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HTC’s latest J Butterfly is basically a waterproof One M8 with a potentially better camera

When we first learned that HTC would be releasing a plastic variant of its One M8, it was largely believed that this device would end up replacing the J Butterfly series, unifying two flagship brands under one moniker. Apparently this wasn’t the case after all, as the latest version of the J Butterfly has now touched down as an exclusive to KDDI in Japan.

Reading over the spec list and looking at the device’s build material, this handset is pretty much a step in between the E8 and M8, keeping the M8’s Duo Camera approach but ditching the UltraPixel sensor in favor of a 13MP shooter. The secondary 2MP rear cam is said to deliver a “Duo Effect” by giving depth-of-field adjustments and other features. Like the E8, the J Butterfly is plastic, though it also happens to have IPX5/IPX7 water and dust resistance. Other specs include a Snapdragon 801 CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, microSD, Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 4.4 with Sense.

Bottom-line, if you love the idea of a waterproof HTC One and liked the Duo approach but weren’t sold on Ultrapixels, this could be the perfect device for you. Unfortunately, it’s pretty likely this handset will remain an exclusive to Asia, at least for the time being. That said, it’s not unheard of for the device to cross over to Europe or even the United States, as the last J Butterfly model to make it stateside was the rebranded Verizon HTC Droid DNA.

What do you think of the latest J Butterfly? Based on specs and looks, how do you feel it compares to the One M8 and E8?

Andrew is one of the three Managing Editors of Android Authority, primarily responsible for the overseeing of US team of writers, in addition to several other projects such as VR Source and more. He loves tech, gaming, his family, and good conversations with like-minded folks.